The present invention relates to a method of shielding a stethoscope to prevent the transmission of disease between patients, and, in particular, to a shield which attaches to a stethoscope head prior to use and is then removed so as to prevent disease transmission between patients on whom the stethoscope is used.
The use of stethoscopes is widespread in the medical community. The stethoscope typically includes a head portion with a diaphragm disposed thereon which is placed against the patient, and a pair of ear pieces in communication with the diaphragm. A health care provider places the ear pieces in his or her ears while applying the diaphragm firmly against the skin of the patient. Due to the sensitivity of the diaphragm, the health care provider is able to hear inside of the patient and thereby diagnose illness or determine that no illness is present. For example, when the diaphragm is placed on the patient's chest, the health care provider can listen to respiration and cardiac functions to determine whether irregularities are occurring.
Unfortunately, by contacting the patient's skin, the stethoscope can become contaminated by microorganisms and other diseases which might be present on the patient. This is especially true of patients who have highly infectious diseases which can be passed by skin contact. Using the same stethoscope for several patients increase the risk that diseases will be passed between them. While sterilization of the stethoscope would prevent most of the transfer of disease, it is extremely impractical to sterilize a stethoscope between each use on a patient. For nurses and other health care professionals working in hospitals and other high capacity situations, sterilizing the stethoscope between each use would be next to impossible.
Because of these concerns, several shields have been developed which fit over the stethoscope head. The shields typically include an elastic retention means to hold the shield on the stethoscope head when in use, and allow changing the shield between each patient. Such shields, however, suffer from several problems. First, several of the shields are awkward to position on the stethoscope. Because many of the shields functionally require to hands to be used to place the shield over the head of the stethoscope, the health care provider must put down the patient's charts, etc., in order to attach the shield.
Second, the shields generally hold to the stethoscope's head by attaching on the side opposite the diaphragm. In such a position, however, there is a significant risk that air will be trapped between the diaphragm and the portion of the shield which will contact the patient. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that air adjacent the diaphragm greatly reduces the ability of the diaphragm to magnify the sounds within the patient's body.
In light of the above, there is a need for a stethoscope shield which is easily attached to and removed from the stethoscope head, and for a stethoscope shield which does not interfere with the functioning of the stethoscope.